18F-labeled O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-L-Tyrosine is an amino acid tracer, it has been proved as a suitable PET (position emission tomography) probe for tumor diagnosis imaging.
The preparation of O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-L-Tyrosine was developed by Wester et al. (J. Nucl. Med. 1999; 40:205–212) and Hamacher et al. (Appl. Radiat. Isot. 2002; 57:853–856). However, it is inconvenient by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for purified product, it is not only cumbersome but also difficult automation, since during HPLC purify process operator must switch valve from waste collecting bottle to product bottle in order to collect purified O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-L-Tyrosine and switch valve back to waste bottle after complete the collection of purified product in order to maintain high purified O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-L-Tyrosine. The present invention provides a new precursor for smooth synthesis, and utilizes resin and silica gel column for purification to reduce complexity of HPLC purification process.